Early Ming Dynasty: Turning Clouds and Rains into New Learning Saints

Chapter 204 Who agrees and who disagrees?
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "What you said makes sense, but the achievements of Xiangshan County are also related to my request that all places must obey the emperor's request when it comes to Xiangshan County affairs!"

Having said this, he thought for a moment and then said: "After the New Year, Xiangshan County has less than one year left in its three-year period. It is also time for Yifan to sort out Xiangshan County's policy measures and which ones have the effect Universality can be promoted all over the world and be effective. Which ones are only suitable for Xiangshan County? Or, are they suitable for certain places? "

After Zhu Biao heard this, he asked for instructions: "Where can I write a letter to Yifan and let him summarize it?"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he shook his head and said: "No, this time, I have ordered to ask, go through the formal process, and discuss it later in the court."

At this point, after he paused, he still said with a little emotion: "I really didn't expect that Yifan could achieve such great achievements in Xiangshan County. This is something I never thought of beforehand."

Before going to Xiangshan County, although Zhang Yifan did show a distinctive talent, it was just an idea after all, it's hard to say whether it is good or bad.

But now, no matter how others slander Xiangshan County, no one can deny its achievements.

In the future, if anyone dares to say that the consort is young, has a hairless mouth, and is not reliable in his work, he is really blind.

At this time, as for the issue of post station fees raised by Zhang Yifan, it can only be shelved for the time being. Zhu Yuanzhang is planning to wait until the three-year period of Xiangshan County is up to discuss appropriate measures and implement them together.

The 11th year of Hongwu basically passed like this.

During the Chinese New Year, Zhang Yifan received a letter from Zhu Di saying that he had a son.

In response, Zhu Jingjing said to Zhang Yifan with expectation: "The fourth brother got married around the same time as us, and now he has a son. Look, he even wrote a letter asking for red envelopes!"

When Zhang Yifan heard this, he immediately burst into laughter and said, "It's okay. He wants a red envelope. Give him a big one. We'll give birth to ten or eight of them later to see if he can afford to repay this gift!"

When Zhu Jingjing heard this, she quickly asked in surprise: "Brother Fan, don't you need the seven in front and eight in the back?"

Zhang Yifan listened and said with a smile: "We are adults, if you want to have a baby, no problem!"

After the New Year, both of them are nineteen.Even in later generations, it is still the age to get married and have children, so Zhang Yifan naturally has no worries.

In fact, the first seven and the last eight are not absolute. There is still a chance of pregnancy. Zhang Yifan had to do this and did his best, but in the end, he did not get pregnant.

Zhu Jingjing was overjoyed after hearing this and said quickly: "That's great. I'm really afraid that our child will be born before my sister's child!"

In the 11th year of Hongwu, just like in the original history, there was another consort, Mei Yin, who married Princess Ningguo. This was Empress Ma's biological daughter and Zhu Yuanzhang's second daughter.

I have to say that Zhu Yuanzhang still valued Mei Yin very much.

From then on, Zhang Yifan, the Prince Consort, was no longer alone, he had a companion.

At this time, Zhang Yifan heard a hint of complaint from Zhu Jingjing's words, and said with a smile: "My term as magistrate of Xiangshan County has less than one year left. The purpose of my father sending Fang Xiaoru here is also Obviously, we plan to let him take over the post of magistrate of Xiangshan County. After the year, I estimate that he will be familiar with the government affairs of Xiangshan County, so I will slowly hand over everything to him, so that we will have more Time can make man!"

Although he has been thinking of ways to reduce his burden, after all, he is the top leader in Xiangshan County, and basically everything is inseparable from his guidance, so he has been really busy in the past few years.

Zhu Jingjing couldn't help but blush after hearing this, and then nodded and said: "My father just came and asked you to summarize the government affairs of Xiangshan County. This should be the meaning. When the three-year period is up, we can return to Beijing!"

Although it is nice and free here.However, for example, during the Chinese New Year, there are some relatives who miss the capital.

Although Zhang Yifan is an orphan, he still regards Liujiacun as his family.Of the two men he brought with him, one was in charge of the cement factory and the other was in charge of the salt fields. Now they are both eldest and young, and they all want to go back to get married and have children.

Once this year is over, the 12th year of Hongwu will come.Zhang Yifan confidently began to hand over the county magistrate's official duties to Fang Xiaoru on the pretext of fulfilling the emperor's will.

For example, Fang Xiaoru was asked to read official documents, sign signatures, etc. every day, as well as inspect various factories, industries, etc.In this way, Zhang Yifan felt much more relaxed.

………………

At the Xiangshan County Pier, amidst the huge crowds, a group of people got off the boat. There were about twenty people. At first glance, they looked different.

I saw that fifteen or six of these people were strong men, and they looked like they could fight.There are five or six others, and judging by their temperament, they are the kind of people who travel around the world.But the person at the head was quite magnanimous.In short, he doesn't look like a businessman, let alone working.

Originally, there would have been a group of carriage drivers here fighting for their lives.But when they saw this group of people disembarking, no one dared to go up to solicit business immediately.

It was these people who recruited the group of coachmen and then said they wanted to stay at the best inn in Xiangshan County.

After arriving at the inn, the waiter who was serving them was stopped. One of them said: "We, Mr. Li, want to ask questions. If you answer well, you will be rewarded. If you dare to answer truthfully, be careful!"

The waiter was a little scared and quickly served him respectfully.

So, I heard the leader, Mr. Li, start to ask questions.

"Do you have casinos in Xiangshan County? How many are there and who is the owner?"

"How many brothels do you have here? Who is behind them?"

"..."

This person asked a lot of questions, all related to casinos and romantic places.

I have figured it out. It's not that the fierce dragon can't cross the river. This group of outsiders are coming with bad intentions and good people will not come.

With such a large population in Xiangshan County, brothels are inevitable, as are casinos.

After learning about the specific situation, after the buddy left, the servant with a bit of a mischievous eyebrow said to the master Li: "Master Li, it's too outrageous in Xiangshan County to levy such a heavy tax and steal money." ah!"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Li recalled his past dealings with this prince-in-law and felt a little helpless. He replied: "Before coming here, my family told me not to conflict with the prince-in-law's county magistrate. Since he has set such a heavy tax, we must abide by it." No matter what, it’s a profitable business here.”

This Master Li is none other than Li Laifu, the steward of Li Shanchang's younger brother Li Cunyi's house.

The business of raking in side deals, especially in this casino and Fengyuechang, is a hugely profitable business.

Li Shanchang is not a kind-hearted and kind person. He has no reason not to intervene in a business that can make a lot of money.

When he was in Xiangshan County, he saw such a large population, it was still a new place, and everyone was rich, so he keenly felt that casinos and brothels would definitely be very profitable businesses.

However, after all, he was the most important figure in the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and he also wanted to save face. He couldn't help himself with this kind of work related to gambling and brothels, so his second brother sent people to make money.

At this time, Li Laifu's men said somewhat speechlessly: "But the prince-in-law has people declare in the casino that gambling harms others and harms oneself. What does it mean to lose nine out of ten bets? Over at the brothel, a designated doctor is required to check every half a month. , and it costs a lot of money. Compared with other places, it’s so damn troublesome!”

After hearing this, Li Laifu said a little irritably: "This is the land of the prince-in-law. Even if the prince comes, he must behave himself. If the prince-in-law is rampant, even the prince can fight against him. So, don't worry about any weird rules, it's all good. Just be honest and don’t do it.”

After a pause, he added: "Who doesn't know the consequences of gambling, but there are still a lot of people gambling. Don't worry about these things!"

Li Laifu is a talker, he has said this, and even if the people below him are not used to it, they can only listen.

In the following days, they began to invade the territory, and then targeted several casinos and brothels to intervene forcefully.

Just because they don't dare to touch the prince-in-law doesn't mean they will behave well towards others.Bullying is a necessary skill and the main source of huge profits.

In the first half of the 12th year of Hongwu's reign, there were suddenly more and more such dragons crossing the river, especially those from the capital, and they were involved not only in brothels and casinos, but also in other profitable businesses.

In the past, Xiangshan County was too far away, and I didn’t know how much money could be made in Xiangshan County.

However, more than two years have passed, and Xiangshan County's reputation has spread throughout the country.Especially last year, so many officials from the capital came here, which spread the prosperity of Xiangshan County, just like flies smelling a cracked egg and immediately swarmed in.

You can see that as time goes by, more and more of these raptors will cross the river, and they will all come to Xiangshan County to grab food.

If Zhang Yifan's severe crackdown last year was actually only targeted at local gangsters and bullies, then this time, there are various high-ranking officials and nobles as backers.

If we were to face such a group of dragons in other places, people with ordinary backgrounds would have no choice but to admit defeat.No matter what, you can't defeat these dragons crossing the river.

But where is this place?

This is Xiangshan County, where the consort is the county magistrate, and it is also a special zone.

If these things happened before the Yongjiahou incident, they might have been succeeded by some dragons crossing the river, scaring the victims into thinking they were unlucky.

But now, not to mention the entire Xiangshan County, even the entire Guangdong Province knows that in the territory of the Prince Consort, all dragons must be guarded, and the Prince Consort will not know who you are!

As a result, the victims came to the Yamen one after another to complain.

But just in time, Zhang Yifan started to let go and let Fang Xiaoru exercise his ability as the magistrate of Xiangshan County. Some things were handled a little slowly.

These cases are not actually security incidents, but business incidents, or economic disputes.Compared with those scammed, kidnapped and robbed, it has a certain degree of concealment.

By the time Fang Xiaoru reacted, there were a lot of cases.

However, Fang Xiaoru himself is not a person who bullies the weak and fears the strong. You must know that in the original history, the allusions of killing the ten clans should be attributed to him.Regardless of whether the ten clans were really killed or not, one thing is very clear, that is, Fang Xiaoru’s bones are very hard!

Therefore, Fang Xiaoru personally led the police to arrest people one by one, reporting them to the backstage was useless, and then sentenced them according to the law.

In the summer of the 12th year of Hongwu, the dignitaries and dignitaries from the capital fled back to the capital one after another, crying and complaining to their backstage, including Li Laifu.

As the saying goes, they come with lofty ideals and return with a grey-headed and rat-faced look. This is what this group of people is talking about.

Blocking people's money will stoke a hornet's nest.

If the son-in-law did this, they might have tolerated it. Now even Fang Xiaoru, who is nothing, is so disrespectful, so what?
Of course, they are not stupid and will not talk about these things. After all, if they really talk about it, they are in the wrong.As a result, they launched attacks on Xiangshan County from various angles.

For example, if Xiangshan County attracts people, it is to suck blood from other places, which is definitely not advisable.

For another example, Xiangshan County is overpopulated. Once plague, famine, etc. breaks out, it will lead to large-scale disasters!
Some people even asked for an audit of the accounts, saying that Xiangshan County was only less than three years old, so how could so much money come from?

Some people say that everyone in Xiangshan County is rich, and there is definitely something wrong with it, and they ask to go to Xiangshan County to check!
In short, some don't, they all use a magnifying glass or look for trouble based on what they think.

Among them, there is even credit for Li Shanchang.

He is not saying that there is a problem in Xiangshan County, but on the contrary, he is praising it, and he is praising it endlessly.Let the situation in the capital regarding Xiangshan County become even more confusing.

At this moment, the memorial summarized by Zhang Yifan also reached the capital through official channels, that is, the memorial first went to the General Affairs Department, then to the Zhongshu Province, and then to the East Palace and the emperor.

This was done intentionally by Zhu Yuanzhang. The purpose of this was to make the contents of the memorial public.

Zhang Yifan summed it up in the memorial:

First, the household registration reform implemented in Xiangshan County can be implemented throughout the country. It is universal and can unleash the enthusiasm of people to choose their own jobs and improve productivity.

Second, the grain field distribution law implemented in Xiangshan County is fully qualified to be implemented in all parts of the country. It can solve the problem of hidden households and hidden fields nationwide, ensure that the people reduce the possibility of starvation and increase the court’s land tax income.

Third, the salt boiling method was changed to the salt field method, which was suitable for promotion in coastal areas, allowed major salt-producing areas to compete with each other, and adopted an official sale system.This method of increasing the supply of salt can not only eliminate the sale of illegal salt, but also reduce the possibility of salt merchants using illegal salt to sell as official salt. It also reduces people's expenditure on salt, increases the use of salt, and benefits the people. .

Fourth, the model of government-run cement plants is also suitable for nationwide promotion, thereby ensuring that cement can reduce costs due to large-scale firing, which will not only benefit the people, but also generate profits to further develop better cement.

Fifth, increase government revenue through government-run sales and business promotion, increase business taxes and the land system (housing purchases and households must be linked to government-built houses), implement a hierarchical fiscal system, and ensure that local governments can do what they have to do if they have money public affairs is very necessary.

Sixth, it is also very necessary to do business with other countries, sell the low-priced goods of the country at high prices, and buy back the supplies needed by the country.Not only can this be done along the coast, but it can also be done inland. If necessary, the Silk Road can be restarted and protected by the army.

…………

The public presentation of this memorial immediately detonated the officialdom of the capital.When all officials meet, they will definitely discuss this memorial.

It can be said that many of the measures here have affected the interests of many vested interests.Even if this is just the founding of the country, there are still many vested interests, and most of the vested interests are the founding heroes.

Even at the back of this memorial, Zhang Yifan also listed his expenses as a county official and used this to prove that the salaries of middle and low-level officials in the Ming Dynasty were too small. Therefore, a reasonable salary system and year-end bonuses based on political performance at the end of the year should be established. , also cannot stop those with vested interests from making irresponsible remarks on this memorial.

The reason is very simple. Most of these vested interests are founding heroes and occupy high positions. A little more or a little less in their salaries will have little impact on them.But these two aspects, grain fields and salt, are matters that they attach great importance to.

Even though Zhang Yifan used the example of Xiangshan County at the end of the memorial to explain that income from growing grain was not as good as doing business to make a fortune, they were still obsessed with grain fields.

Of course, it was still because Zhu Yuanzhang was in charge. Although some people were dissatisfied with the memorial, they only dared to object on a matter-of-fact basis, but did not dare to yell at the consort.

If it were the emperor of the future who dared to touch their interests, not to mention the prince-in-law, he would probably fall into the water or something.

This matter has been quarreling until July of the 12th year of Hongwu. When there were only more than two months left before the prince-in-law took office as the magistrate of Xiangshan County, Emperor Hongwu finally made a decision.

At this time, the construction of the Imperial City of Nanjing had been completed, and Zhu Yuanzhang summoned all civil and military officials, as well as royal relatives and nobles, to hold a grand meeting in the Jinluan Hall.

Facing these ministers, Zhu Yuanzhang announced in a cold voice: "Regarding the new policy of Xiangshan County, no matter what the new policy is, there will be no result in arguing in the capital. Regardless of whether you agree or not, I will take your ministers to Xiangshan County to have a look in person. It’s a mule or a horse, slip out and have a look. If it’s good, I will implement it; if it’s not good, I will definitely not implement it. So, who is in favor and who is against it?”

Civil and military officials: "..."

In Emperor Hongwu's words of "who agrees and who opposes", anyone who knows a little bit about the emperor's temper will know that the emperor has a hint of murderous intent.If you don’t agree with this, then there is nothing to say!

Probably, that's what it means.

Zhu Yuanzhang was the founding emperor. After he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, he also went to Kaifeng. Therefore, his leaving Nanjing for Xiangshan County was not an exception.

Under Zhu Yuanzhang's majesty, no minister dared to oppose this decision.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the prince who had already gone to Xiangshan County to supervise the country, and was assisted by Grand Master Li Shanchang. After leaving the necessary officials, he took the adult prince, Prime Minister Hu Weiyong and other civil and military officials to Xiangshan County in a mighty manner.

(End of this chapter)